Gainesville Quran uproar ends with peaceful protest march — but no burning

GAINESVILLE — Protesters marched a mile and chanted, a woman was arrested for trespassing and two gun-toting observers were turned away Saturday, an underwhelming conclusion to the global tale of a small church that planned to burn Islamic scriptures as an insult on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The threat to burn 200 Qurans was withdrawn Saturday morning by pastor Terry Jones, who flew to New York on a mission of peace and publicity and was not at his Dove World Outreach Center during the protest Saturday night.

About 200 people, mostly students, marched from a skateboard park about a mile away to the church grounds. Some wore T-shirts that said "Love, Not Dove," and some carried signs, including one asking what Jesus would do with the controversial leader of the small Gainesville congregation.

Once outside the church, the crowd chanted: "Terry Jones, you're a clown. We don't want you in our town."

Jimmy Dunson, 25, of Lakeland traveled to Gainesville to let Jones and his congregation know what others thought of the threat and "to stand up against Islamophobia and hate."

One person held up a Quran and a lighter to make a point, but police said they removed both items as a precaution. As Jones had been told by Gainesville authorities, open burnings require permits, and none had been approved for Saturday.

Jackie Betz, 63, who said she is a local organizer for the women's peace movement Code Pink, held a sign outside the church quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Among the marchers from Possum Creek Park to the church was Fernando Figueroa, 20, a University of Florida student from Leesburg and an organizer for Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, and Bradenton student Timothy Johnson, 20.

"Even if they weren't burning the Quran," Johnson said, "they're still part of the Islamophobia that's rampant in the U.S."

The protest began about 6 p.m. and was over about an hour later. The area was devoid of protesters and reporters by 7:30 p.m.

Police reported three incidents: the threat by a protester to burn a Quran; the brief detention of two men trying to park on church property with guns in a pickup;and a woman who tried to get onto church grounds from a neighboring property. The holy book and lighter were taken as a precaution, police said; the men had proper papers for the guns and were turned away from the property; and the 46-year-old woman was charged with trespassing and resisting an officer without violence after she tried to run away, police said.

The church expects to hold its regular Sunday service today at 10:30 a.m. Luke Jones, the pastor's son, could not say whether his father would be there to deliver his sermon. The service will not be open to the public or media, Luke Jones said.

Across town Saturday, thousands packed UF's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to watch the Gators play the University of South Florida. Before the cancellation of the Quran-burning, many fans speculated about a terrorist attack at the stadium, which holds more than 90,000 people.

UF student Ashley Smith, 20, said her mom, who lives in Jacksonville, didn't want her to attend Saturday's game because of possible violence.

When news spread of the cancellation, Smith decided to attend the game.

By 2 p.m., Gator fans seemed more concerned about the team's offense than the Quran-burning controversy.

Tailgating underneath an orange-and-blue tent near the stadium, Gwen Pridmore, 26, and her friends and family watched the game on a big-screen television. Pridmore, a Florida alumnaand resident of Longwood, said burning the Quran won't "solve anything. "

But Mueller said he understood that Jones was trying to make a statement. Mueller said that if Christians are expected to accept Muslims, then Muslims must do the same.

"Tolerance goes both ways," he said.

Suzanna Bonard, 24, lives in Gainesville and said Jones brought unwanted attention to the city.

"It makes us look like a hick town with a hick pastor," Bonard said.

She joked that the controversy would probably be the subject of an upcoming episode of "South Park."

The Texas evangelist who met with Jones earlier this week to halt the Quran-burning, Kilari Anand Paul, encouraged reporters to ignore future stunts by Jones.

"He wants attention," Paul said. "We should not give him attention."

Paul said one of his assistants provided Jones with a credit-card number to book a flight to New York for Jones and his entourage, and Jones booked first-class tickets, "which offended me."

Paul suggested Jones had an inflated opinion of himself.

"He wants Obama to call him. I said, 'What? You crazy? President Obama has nothing to do but talk to crazy people, like you?' "

Asked whether he thinks Jones would keep his word to "not ever" burn a Quran, Paul said, "I can't guarantee anything what he says, because it took me 36 hours to convince him to not burn Quran. He was placing conditions."